If we were good in planning & policies we wouldn't have a per capita GDP of $15K today but rather > $50K.
I have read somewhere that 1+3 Tepe class are planned for production and for MUGEM 2 more may be produced. So look at the bright side, without MUGEM we would have only 4 Tepe! And that 2 additional TEPE is always a plus. So building MUGEM (irrespective of the reason) would still be useful
Not sure how relevant is this idea in a military sense but also think about the sudden attack scenario from Greece and Israel. If during that time MUGEM is in indien ocean that means we will have a carrier strike group as well as 50 fighter jets (or KE etc.) untouched and ready to come for help.
When the project was first announced in the late 1990s, the goal was to build (or acquire) a total of 6 air defense frigates. This was the target when the Request for Information (RFI) was published in 1996. Due to the 1999 Gölcük earthquake and the subsequent economic crisis in the early 2000s, the project's budget and scope were affected, or rather, it became the subject of some speculation, with some publications suggesting that the planned number of ships was reduced to 4. When the MİLGEM project was reconsidered as its final phase, as far as I remember, the initial IDEF launch mentioned 7 ships, and this was later written and discussed as 4 + 4 (Block I and subsequent phases). Currently, the target is to have 8 air defense destroyers.
In short, except for a brief period in the early 2000s, I don't think the TF-2000 (Tepe) project ever being limited to four, and even then, the goal was to proceed in blocks. However, I think the most accurate statement here would be that the Turkish Navy has truly needed at least four air defense vessel for a very long time (about 20 years).
The Turkish Navy is under significant expansion pressure, as its sphere of influence and the maritime area it must control are expanding as much as possible. The MUGEM program makes some needs even more critical. Perhaps in the future, we will be operating two different task forces in two different seas, and while these are on active duty, we will be trying to maintain the cycle required by numerous overseas bases, as well as the security of the territorial waters and exclusive economic zone of a homeland surrounded by seas on three sides.
Some defense enthusiasts often consider all ships to be on active duty when looking at the inventory and/or planning. However, while some ships are on active duty, others are in reserve, some are conducting training/exercises, and others are undergoing maintenance in the shipyard.
TL;DR, TCG Anadolu and perhaps MUGEM, which we will see in the 2030s, will inevitably change the silhouette of the Turkish navy. You might be able to manage just barely in peacetime, but I believe that even the current plan consisting of 8 destroyers will not be sufficient when the waters get really hot. Yes, each one will be astronomically expensive, but that's the reality. IMHO, MUGEM's indirect impact will be roughly equivalent to creating a medium-sized navy.